Fund vs Firm: Building Compounding Advantage

Venture is changing fast — but not in the way most people think.

This week, we’re joined by David Haber, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, where he invests in AI applications and helped build the firm’s presence in New York.

David recently wrote a piece that went viral around a single provocative idea:

Most investors run funds. Very few build firms.

We unpack what that actually means — why “fund vs firm” is more than semantics, how a16z thinks about compounding advantage, and why the next era of venture may be defined by power (distribution, networks, operating leverage) more than capital alone.

We also go deep on David’s founder journey — from starting a fintech company, raising $900M, selling to Goldman Sachs, and then switching sides to join a16z. Along the way, he explains what it really takes to scale in financial services — and why AI is turning fintech into one of the most exciting markets again.

What emerges is a clear worldview: the best venture firms aren’t just investors — they’re products. And the winners will be the ones that build moats that get stronger with scale.

In this episode, we explore:

* A16Z — how the firm is structured across multiple strategies (AI apps, infrastructure, growth, bio, American Dynamism), and what that means for founders.

* Fund vs Firm — why David believes most VCs optimize for carry, not compounding advantage, and how “firm-building” changes everything.

* The platform debate — why a16z invests heavily in its operating platform, and why the “platform replaces GP time” argument misses the point.

* Solo GPs and the new VC landscape — why early-stage winners are still widely distributed, and where specialists can still win big.

* Inside Goldman after an acquisition — what it’s like to go from a startup team to a 40,000-person machine, and how to take “risk” inside a massive org.

* AI’s real wedge in enterprises — why software is moving from “tools” to “doing the work,” and how this changes TAM from IT spend to labor.

* Fintech’s AI moment — why financial services is one of the most human-capital intensive industries on earth, and why that makes it ripe for automation.

* Where AI is going next — from copilots → managers of agents, deeper system integration, and why more enterprise work will be driven by unstructured data (including voice).

If you’re trying to understand where venture is heading — and what founders should expect from “value add” in a world where AI compresses timelines — this one’s for you.

Also available onApple Podcasts // Spotify

Chapters:

(0:00) Intro(2:14) About Andreessen Horowitz (4:31) The Past 1,000 Days For AI (6:02) Where David Is Spending His Time (8:25) Bond Street's Founding Story (11:54) Bond Street's Early Challenges (14:17) Goldman Sachs’ Acquisition of Bond Street (20:14) Tips For Recovering Founders Post-Sale (23:13) Joining A16Z (26:32) The Future of Venture: Fund vs Firm (37:11) The Rise Of Solo GPs (42:52) The Greatest Lesson From Marc & Ben (47:18) Trends: Reimagining Financial Services (52:45) David's Startup Ideas (53:47) The Next 1,000 Days For AI

Thanks for listening and see you in the next episode 👋

P.S. When you become an annual paid subscriber, you automatically access these best-in-class AI tools for free — for 12 months. Save thousands of dollars now!!